Endless-carrier garment-supporting structure



May 29, 1923. 1,456,963

' J. T. BATTS ENDLESS CARRIER GARMENT SUPPORTING STRUCTURE Filed July 19 1920 5 Sheets$heet l 4 /3 1a 1o /0 12 go 10 og 8 17 L 1 22 g 10 ii 30 10 4/ fig 2:

314mm Jab/7 7201770660775 May 29,1923.

1,456,963 J. r. BATTS ENDLESS CARRIER GARMENT SUPPORTINGVSTRUCTURE Filed July 19. 1920 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 v ,3 l I l j 15 l [0 l2 10 1 l 8 34 3 mp 4 27 /7 25 6 7 fi A 40 14/ lac 29 a 42 May 29, 1923.

1,456,963 J. T. BATTS ENDLESS CARRIER GARMENT SUPPORTING STRUCTURE Filed July 19 1920 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 0 Q 109 /0g 9 l 0 1 my 1/ I 12 fl 16g v o 9 0- l3 9 1/ i R 36 4g 36 /00 10/; T 3.9' 1 .J 37 39 R 0 3a 38 0d a 1 d 04 /obn Thomas May 29, 1923. I 1,456,963

J. T. BATTS ENDLESS .CARRIER GARMENT SUPPORTING STRUCTURE Filed July 19 1920 5 Shets-Sheet John 720/7206 50/73 May 29, I923 1,456,963 J; T; BATTS ENDLESS CARRIER GARMENT SUPPORTING STRUCTURE Filed July 19. 1926 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 \z' L fl1l I ("I Q 'IL. 1 mJ/ U Q? g Q Q Q l qx Q Patented May 29, 1923 v JOHN THOMAS BAT/IFS, or GRAND RAP11S, MICH1GANJ ENDLESS-CARRIER ena'rlrnnr-surronrmc STRUCTURE;

Application filed July 19, 1920. semi 1%. 39 ,195.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that'I, JOHN THOMAS Ba'rrs, acitizen of the United Statesof America,- residing at Grand Rapids, in the county of Kent and State of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Endless-Carrier Garment-Supporting Structures; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it apperta'ins to make and use the same.

This invention relates to endless carrier garment holding constructions by means of which an exceptionally large number of garments may be carried on hangers onrods which are mounted in properly spaced apart relation on carrier chains, the same being operable to bring the garments on anypar ticularor selected rod into position for access and examination, It is a primary'job ject and purpose of th'e' present invention to make a device of this character-in practical forinfso that it will efi'ectually carry the garments, be easily operable without binding or cramping of the mechanism in any way, be available for the holding of different lengths of garments such as suits of clothes or overcoats orlike garments of g'reate'r length, and which will occupy the minimum space consistent with the large quantity of garments it will carry and display. Many subsidiary" objects and pur'- poses for the effectual attainment of these ends, and novel constructive details and arrangements of parts directed thereto will appear fully and in detail as understanding the invention is had from the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which,

Fig. lis a side elevation of an endless carrier garn'ient holding construction made in accordance with my invention.

Fig. 2 is a front elevation thereof;

Fig. 3 is a horizontal section therethrough taken on line of 1 above the driv-- ing mechanism of the construction:

- Fig; 4 is a fragmentary vertical section atone side of the construction havingto do with the detail of connecting or discon' under the lower en'dsjof the "u p'rights", 'ti. I Lower and uppercross'barsE and '9,- at front 1 andrear connect the sidesof theframe aadg to that shown in Fig. 5, showinga differentdrive mechanism. ii I Fig.- 8-is a sectional detail of-the cornicetion of the garment carr ing "rods to the chain carriers. a Fig. 9 is a front elevationiofa slightly modified form of construction.

Fig. 10 is a vertical section'therethroughl;

Fig; 11 is a fragmentary inne'rsidej view" illustrating the means of adjustably mount ing the equalizing shaft of the shown in Figs. 9iand 10. 1

Fig. 12 is a horizontal sectionon of line 1'212; ofFig. 11, and H I I Fig. 13 is a side elevation of an instal lati'on-or" the carriersof my invention iI 1""a store. 7

the; plane construction Like reference characters re' f'er to liiie a parts in the different views of the" drawings:

In the construction, a supporting. frame 5 including corner uprights l sp aced apart atfront anclyrear' as vshown in-Fig'. isused, 1

lower and upper side bars 2f;ancl-3 'ctmnect-v ing the side uprights at their'lcwer-arid'up l g per ends with intermediate sidebars-"45 and 5' disposed between the uprights atthef side I t of the frame, theformerbein g spaced short distance abovethe' latter. In" addition; each side of the frame includes;twonprights' 6 paralleling, and a short distanceba ckand in front; of, the frontandre'ar u pri'ghts fl'i;

respectively, "disposed between thesi'deb'ars' 3 and t, while'short pieces or blocks 7 are disposed between the b'a'rs t'and 5 directly,-

complete the same ma-king' a. trong and l substantially rigidstructure.

, Wheels 10 around whichend'l'esschains run are mounted one on the, inner sideof Metal clips 13 "are .bent around eaten? 1 of certain links of the ehains,-the-enee"ofi I the clips being br ught together-and seeiired I2, suitable.-'s'cr'e'ws 15 passin -"into tli QPIu The rods 12- are either tubular or)- at their ends to receive 'the p111 v manner' the rods are "shiirly eeaneaeefie the chains at their ends and are adapted to carry a large number of garmenthangers on which garments may be suspended. The

end garments on a rod are guarded from ings carried by the bars 5. A. combined I sprocket wheel and clutch member 24 is loosely mounted on shaft 23 near one end thereof and is driven by a chain 25 which passes around the same and a sprocket wheel on shaft 17. A coacting clutch member '26 is splincd on shaft 23, being operated into and out of engagement with clutch member 2 1 through a link connection 27 pivoted toan arm 28 at the rear end of a rock shaft 29 mounted at one side of the frame and extending to the front thereof where it is provided with an operating handle 30 as shown.

A sprocket wheel 31 is secured adjacent each end of the shaft 23 serving to drive sprocket chains 32 which pass around sprocket wheels 33 connected one to each of the lower front chain carrying wheels 10. It is evidentthat shaft 23 serves as an equalizing shaft for driving chains 11 at equal 'speed'obviating any binding orcramping of the parts or distortion of the rods 12 from the horizontal. This is true whether the chains are motor driven or otherwise.

I nected, the chains may be When the clutch parts 24 and 26 are connected, the motor isconnected to drive the chains 11 in endless flight. When discondriven through the medium of a crank 34% at the front of the frame'which is attached to a rod 35 leading back to shaft 23 as shown in Fig. 1. Furthermore this connection ofrod to the shaft may be a detachable one so that the chains may be operated by grasping a rod 12 and drawing down on the same without reference to either the motor or the crank 34.

In Figs. 5 and 6 a modified construction is shown. The uprights 1 are set closer together from front to rear, the uprights 6- eliminated and cross pieces et and 5 lo-- cated farther apart that the barsfl and 5 of-the former construction. Chain carrymg wheels 10 are mounted adjacent the up-- per ends'of the uprights 1 and also a distance above thebar 1 on which a bearing for an equalizing shaft 36 is secured. The shaft reaches across from one hearing at one side to the other and has a chain carrying wheel 1O secured near each end thereof. Also on the shaft near each wheel 10* a sprocket wheel 37 is fixed.

Directly below each of the wheels 1O other similar wheels 10 are mounted on stud shafts carried bythe side bars 5. Sprocket-ivheels 38 are connected with the wheels 10 and chains 39 pass around the sprockets 37 and 38 at each side of the sup porting frame. @ther wheels 10 similar to wheels 10 are mounted on the uprights 1 above the wheel 1O a distance substantially equal to the distance of wheels 10 above the wheel 10".

With this construction, the chains 11 when around the wheels 10 and 10 are adapted to carry longer garments such as overcoats or the like, the rods 12 being spaced farther apart and the wheels 10 being high enough above the bottom of the frame to permit lower ends of the garments to clear the same. The chains may be driven by any suitable drive for the shaft 36, which, if desired may be driven in the same manner as shaft 23 in the first construction. If shorter garments are to be carried, additional lengths may be added to the chains to permit the same to run around the lower wheels 10 and 10 the drive being still from the equalizing drive shaft 36 as is evi-.

dent. This permits the interchanging of the structure for'shorter length garments to longer or vice versa. For the longer garments with the rods 12 farther apart, longer end guards 16 are used. Furthermore with the driving wheels 1O or 1O for the chains located below the lower wheels 10 and the wheels 1O as shown, the chains are compelled to pass more around and have greater and more efficient engagement with said driving wheels, as is obvious, obviating any possible slippage of the chains and insuring a positive and equal drive of thc chains on both sides. 1

Fig. 7 instead of using the sprocket chains 39 and wheels 37 and 38 makes use of bevelled gears 40 on the driving wheels 10 and 10 and mounts a vertical shaft 11 with bevelled pinions 1-2 thereon in engagement. with the bevelled gears, the drive being the same in effect as that shown in Fig. 5 and the construction being equivalent in all functional respects. I

In Figs. 9 to 13 inclusive, a preferred form of frame construction is disclosed. For the structures installed against a store Wall, the rear vertical uprights 1 will be perpendicular to the floor but the-front members 1 will be inclined upwardly and outwardly. Between the same at each side intermediate vertical uprights 43 are used on which to adjustably mount the lower drive shaft and chain driving wheels. The constructions placed out from the walls have both sides inclined upwardly and outwardly so that the supporting frame is wider, even thanthe wall constructions, at the top than at the bottom. The remaining framemembers 2 3 8 and 9 are like the parts similarly nu1n-= bered 2, 3, 8 and 9 in the previously described constructions. Two upper chain carrying wheels 1O are mounted at each side and at the upper part of the frame, being compara tively widely separated. On the inner side of each upright 43 a metal plate 44 is permanently secured, having an inwardly pressed raised central portion 45 in which a plurality of key-hole slots 46 is out one over the other. A. shaft e7 extends between the uprights having chain drive wheels 48 thereon one at each end of the shaft. Said shaft is formed at eachend with a head 49 adapted to enter the wider part of a slot 46, thence dropping down behind the part so at each side of the narrower portion of the slot, retaining the shaft in position against displacement. The shaft may be adjustedto different positions and the chains 11 going therearound on the wheels 48 and 10 shortened or lengthened as the case may be for different lengths of garments. Rods 12 may be differently placed also as is evident. Shaft e7 may be driven in any suitable manner and I have shown a sprocket wheel 50 thereon as indicating one way the power may be applied thereto through a sprocket chain from any suitable motor or other source of power. 7

From the foregoing description it is evident that I have made an improved endless carrier garment holding construction, one in which the chains at each side of the supporting frame are driven in unison, without binding or cramping of the parts in any manner. one in which the construction may be adapted for different lengths of garments,

the length of the chains being readily changed, and provision made for the clearing of the floor by any of the garments irrespective of their length, and one in which a sure and positive drive of the carrier chains is had. In addition. the formation of the supporting frames as illustrated in Figs. 9 to 13 inclusive permits the spreading of the chain carrying wheels at the upper part of the frame where such additional width is necessary for the free passage of the garments, and a narrowing of the frame toward the bottom permits the economy of floor space in stores since the wider upper parts of the supporting frame are above the space occupied by customers and salesmen and is not needed. It is designed that these supporting frames with the garment carrying rods may go in suitable cabinets or cases in stores and an exceptionally heavy line of garments carried for the space occupied.

The invention is defined in the appended claims and I consider myself entitled to all modifications in structure which may vary from the specific disclosures made but which come within the scope'of the claims.

I claim: 1. In combination, a supporting frame rods disposed in spaced apart relation betweenithe chains, a plug inserted in each end of each rod, a metal clip bent upon itself around certain of the links of the chain at the ends ofthe rods, and securing means 7 passing through the ends of the clips and into the plugs in ,the ends of the rods.

2. In combination, a supporting frame having spaced apart sides, a pair of spaced apart wheels rotatably mounted adjacent the upper end of each side of the frame, a single having spaced apart sides, an endless chain mounted on each side of the frame, tubular,

larger wheel rotatably mounted at a lower part of each side of the frame, a shaft connecting said lower wheels and to which said wheels are fixed, and means attached to each side of the frame withwhich the ends of said shaft are adapted to have detachable connection at a plurality of spaced apart points, said chains being lengthened or shortened to correspond with the change of position of the sha i 3. In combination, a supporting frame having spaced apart sides, and being wider at the top than at the bottom, two spaced apart wheels carried adjacent the upper end i of eachside of the frame, a shaft located below the upper wheels and extending between the sides of the frame, a plate attached vertically on each side of the frame and formed with a series of key-hole slots one over the other, said shaft being formed with heads at the ends thereof to engage in said slots, relatively large wheels on the v shaft, one at each end thereof,vchains pass JOHN THOMAS B'ATTS. 

